ONCE AGAIN ON THE FOOTSTEPS OF RICHARD III - ENGLAND SUMMER 2013

Leicester

My recent journey through England was again partly on the footsteps of Richard III, like two years ago. Today is the anniversary of  King Richard's death in battle at Bosworth , 22nd August 1485,  and I think it is the perfect occasion to share with you some facts and pictures from the interesting sites I visited in July.

Leicester

This time last year (25 August 2012) work began on the excavation of the Greyfriars car park and the remains of King Richard III were finally rediscovered. Screenwriter Philippa Langley inaugurated the search for the king's lost grave as part of her research into the real Richard for a screenplay. 

The University of Leicester and Leicester City Council, with the support of the Richard III Society, excavated the site. During the course of the excavation, the skeleton of an adult male was discovered after just a few days. Surprisingly,  the first human remains found were proved to be, beyond all reasonable doubt, those of King Richard III through radiocarbon dating and DNA tests.

RICHARD III URGENT ARCHAELOGY APPEAL

What follows is an appeal in aid of the archaeological search for the lost grave of King Richard III from Philippa Langley. Philippa  is a screenwriter and founder, in 1999, of the Scottish Branch of the Richard III Society. Concurrently with this archaeological project she is preparing a script about the real Richard III. Here's what Philippa wishes to inform Ricardians and  friends about: 

After the battle of Bosworth, Richard III was interred in the choir of Greyfriars church in the centre of Leicester. Ten years later Henry VII had the remains placed in an alabaster tomb where they remained until the Dissolution of the Monasteries. In late August 2012 archaeologists are due to excavate the site which, after exhaustive investigations, is believed to be his most likely last resting place, in the Choir of the former Church of the Greyfriars. 

New map regression analysis and Ground Penetrating Radar have helped to pinpoint the location, and it is here that the first-ever search for the grave of an anointed King of England will begin.